It’s more than just a watch. I recently visited Elliot Brown watches down in my old stomping ground of Purbeck, Dorset. They had organised an adventur …

By charliedontsurf

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The “Be Excellent” Reminder Device.

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I’m a little disappointed as I thought the watch was definitely going ahead, I didn’t realise the minimum order quantity still hasn’t been met.

Fingers crossed that it happens

@frantsinatra … its so very close. We had almost 200 Singletrackers put their name down, and need to hit a minimum order quantity of 50 watches. One way or another we will get this over the line, even if Chipps has to wear watches from his wrist to his armpit 😉

Maybe we should start the trend of “ankle watches”… like a super classy ASBO tag. “what time is it?”… time to get back home before your curfew kicks in.

Must be something up with my watch, as all it does is remind me i’m irrevocably average, and just a few boring Teams calls away from full ‘grey man’ status. #lifegoals

….and be male

This thread/item is basicaly thrudark isn’t it.

https://thrudark.com/people/

I’m sorry, but it’s got to be said…

Similar levels of cringe, yup!

We drank gin, brainstormed heavy stuff, created fire, butchered a deer, sat round the fire, jumped off cliffs into the sea, had a sing-a-long, and played Zorb British Bulldog.

How many of these perks are included with the purchase of every watch?

(or will every watch sold help finance more such motivational activities for a̶m̶b̶a̶s̶s̶a̶d̶o̶r̶s̶ the sales team?)

We drank gin, brainstormed heavy stuff, created fire, butchered a deer, sat round the fire, jumped off cliffs into the sea, had a sing-a-long, and played Zorb British Bulldog.

Glad it’s not just me

For some reason I keep coming back to this and it just gets worse and worse. I especially like the use of an anecdote about seeing loads of dead bodies in Haiti in a PR puff piece trying to sell watches. Tasteful.

“Sales team go on weekend junket”. Great story.

“Be Excellent” Reminder Device???

It’s a ****ing watch.
The article, if you can call it that, reads like some kind of awful parody. Just without the humour.

I get that you guys need to shift these watches to help raise some cash for STW (hence the multiple deadlines, this is your last chance, I really mean it this time) but maybe just be honest about why you’re doing it, sell some lower priced merch, have a gofundme etc? People would be more inclined to chip in?

This watch article come across as a bit desperate, tasteless and damages your brand IMO.

Do you have to be remarkable to wear one of these of just aspiring to be remarkable by association? I suspect some of your potential buyers are now thinking the concept has turned a bit naff.

Well, you have to be pretty remarkable to think a useless piece of expensive jewelry makes you excellent or special in some way.

Well there is the fact that if we get this watch made we’ll be handing over £2.5k to St. Gemma’s Hospice. Plus some more fundraising stuff for them and Macmillan Cancer research after that.

@thegeneralist it’s nothing to do with Thrudark.

@Double 0 Shreddin’
I don’t know how much EB reinvest into their ambassador activities… it’s not my business.

But it really is very very normal to invest in your business’s community. You know when you see a pro cyclist on a brand XXX bike, they probably didn’t pay for the bike, but having XXX pro on your bike is good for business. The EB ambassadors are a remarkable gang of people, doing incredible things to raise money for charities, and also serious humanitarian projects. EB share their projects, giving them a little publicity, which helps their charity projects.

I know EB pulled in favours from friends in their business community for this weekend. This was not a megabuck event, jetting folk in, 5 star hotels etc… none of that. We butchered our own evening meal.

This trip down south… I travelled in my own time, in my own vehicle, slept in my vehicle on the super long drive home, paid for my own fuel… 14 hours of driving, you know I was north of Oxford before I got over 40mph.

@joeydeacon
There has only been the two deadlines, one to register interests, and one to put your order in. We are reminding Singletrackers because we don’t want anyone to miss out. It is also my job to present to you the merch we have available. It all helps keep Singletrack pump out the online content and print mag, and also in this case raises money for charity.
We have lower price merch… lots of it… in the merch store. Take a look, we have beer, coffee, coffee makes, shirts, hat, books, art, belts… and stickers.

@desperatebicycle

@crossed

yeah, pretty odd isn’t it. It is just a watch… but my experience, it acts as a reminder to myself.

I am not saying only excellent people wear these watches, and I am not saying wear one and you will become excellent. What I am saying is, for me, I found it worked as reminder to myself to aim higher and achieve more.

I could tie a bit of bailing twin around my wrist as a reminder. Learning from, talking to, and working with a genuinely remarkable bunch of individuals has inspired me… and its an EB watch that reminds me of this.

@grum

Sorry you found that tasteless.

From my point of view I found the chaps from DarkSwan, who flew into Haiti inspiring. Millions of people see humanitarian disasters on the news everyday. many do nothing about it. Actually personally taking the problem on by going to a disaster zone, with the skills, and equipment, and saving lives… well, that is a very very impressive thing.

I was looking at this unassuming guy, and he illustrated his “penny dropped… this **** just got real” moment with that quote about the bodies. Man, this guy is super powerful. Flying into somewhere where 200,000 had died. I think he said an 8 second earthquake released more kinetic power in one go, than all the bombs of world war 2 combined (something like that). No electricity, no fresh water, no health care, the entire island was set back to zero. And there he is heading into it. That I find inspiring. To write about that weekend and not mention these guys would not be right.

I had a weekend outside “which was nice”. It really was. It didn’t cost ST a penny, it was all on my own time and money/fuel/vehicle/coffee. And it is my job to remind you that we sell merch and the watch sales book closes really soon. We have had online ads, social media posts, a podcast with Ian Elliot, email newsletters, and Fresh Goods. Hey, if you order a watch that is great, if you don’t… it is also cool. That weekend was inspiring, a little turning point in my life, so I wrote about it. If I keep on writing about what I get up to, you may well see how this links into a 2023 project where I find myself in Africa for a month.

Needs more colour.

@thols2 … when you put it like that… ha haaa… you know seeing these super fit people reduced to zorb’y weebles, devoid of grace or style…. I like that.

I imagine this article has secured a few hundred watch orders and the Gofar directors are cracking open the bubbly as I type 🍾 🥂

charliedontsurf:

It’s more than just a watch..

Also charliedontsurf:

It is just a watch..

I guess my main issue with the piece is that if you received this product to review with that article as the marketing spiel, you’d rip it to shreds (and then review the product fairly). We expect this from the manufacturers, not you. Your magazine/business though, so what do I know.

Either way, hope you reach your target and everyone gets their watch.

It’s a nice watch

Theres a sizable donation to a charity

Helps fund here

Has charlie over done the rhetoric that’s up to you…

Dont like it dont buy it.

Love the thought that @mark and @chipps have this northern white and chrome silicone valley style mansion on some north facing windswept cliff in Caldervale sat there watching the numbers rolling in on leather recliners drinking dom perginon

I think your reply is admirable charliedontsurf.

Nicely put.

200+ expressions of interest and <50 orders 😟

Hope it gets over the line by lunchtime

.

Any update? Is it going ahead. Kind of curious given that EB have my money….

It’s going ahead 🙂

Good stuff, thanks Mark

That ‘what the time is’ reminder device might be a better title for the thread.

I have to say I expected to see some sort of device with Bill and Ted on it.

Either way I’m oot.